The Trial of a Nation

faisaluno: ``urstruly, you are saying a lot of things which contradict each other.``

yup! that is our urstruly!!

Re: # 171

Faisal

How`s Pakistan doing in building physical infrastructure, ie, roads, bridges, etc, and connecting the country?

urstruly, you are saying a lot of things which contradict each other. let me try and make a little sense out of it.

i. i agree that pak should avoid borrowing money from foreigners because we dont want non pakistanis to have a say in our affairs.

ii. you will be happy to know that pak`s foreign debt has been constant over the last 5 years at $35bn. in comparison, during the decade of democracy, pak`s foreign debt went up from $20bn to $40bn. so by this measure, the current govt has out performed the previous governments. furthermore, nationally assembly has passed a law which puts a limit on govt budget deficit. this law will insure that pak will not get into a pickle it found itself in at the end of nawaz sharif`s hukumath.

iii. since pak has borrowed money from abroad, it has to pay it back. and the only three ways it can pay back foreign debt is by (i) attracting foreign investment (2) producing goods that are in demand abroad (3) discovering oil. since i am not a petroleum engineer, i cant comment on (3). also given the level of human capital in pak, it will not be possible in the short run to increase exports to a level needed to payback foreign debt. realistically then it only leaves us with option (i) if we want to rid ourselves of foreign debt. to attract foreign investment, pak will have to (1) assure security to foreign investors (2) convince them that foreign investors will make money by investing in pak. the way to achieve (1) is to play by the rules laid down by investors which means following policies as recommended by the multi-lateral institutions. once pak becomes as rich as say malaysia, pak can thumb its nose at the multi-lateral agencies like mahatir did.

iv. if pakistan defaults on foreign debt, it will be in a worse shape than iraq after sanctions because pakistan, unlike iraq, does not have oil. default will mean that pak among otherthings will not be able to pay for oil imports which means that pak economy will stop functioning. in addition, pak will not be able to pay for medicine either.

v. the stock market is almost back to where it was in march. also people who have stayed with the market on a long term basis have made more money than they could have imagined. also i have no sympathy for any individual that tries to play the stock market for short term gains. investing for long term is a different matter.

vi. interest rates rise and fall depending on the cycle of the economy. obviously depositors lose out when rates fall. otoh lower real interest rates stimulate the economy which puts food on the table of people who might otherwise be jobless.

vii. you have to be a sick fucker to blame gang rapes on govt.

viii. although i live abroad, i grew up in a middle class household in n.nazimabad. yet through hard work, i have done very well for myself mashallah. thankfully, i also did not have mentors like you.

Re: # 168

Faisal

I very strongly believe in merit-based society. However, I think appointment of qualified women at critical positions in Pakistan is very important. Pakistani girls need role models for inspiration. Women are half the Pakistani population. Pakistan must take advantage of this huge but untapped asset.

its absolutely amazing that pakistanis know (and some even know where they live) all the luminaries of nuke-programs. Indians can name Homi Bhabha, but noone else. Even Kalam became famous only after he became pres candidate.

if a direct head-on election were to be held bet mush and AQ, my bet is AQ would win.

godot, cant say i completely agree with you. the sole criteria should be merit and i for one would not be very happy if gender came into consideration in the selection for such an important role. in my opinion, govt should be applauded for appointing people with right qualifications rather than making decisions based on gender. however i do think that media needs to highlight the achievements of women who make it on merit because of dearth of successful female role models. urdu press certainly needs to look beyond people like qadeer khan who if nothing else certianly do hog the spotlight.

Re: # 164 faisal

Consider this:

In the recent donors conference for earthquake victims, the ``world community`` aka. global soodkhors, promised 5.8 billions in ``aid``. This is being promoted by this regime as a big accomplishment. Not many people would know that out of this 5.8 billion, only a fraction i.e. 1.8 b is the aid and rest 4 billion is going to be debt.

In the past every military dictatorship and their political front have taken exhorbitant amount of debt from aalmi soodkhors. In other word these international lenders have invested heavily in Pakistan and like any other investor they want return on their investment. For that, and also to make sure that their investment is safe, from time to time they have started appointing government officials in the GOP. The most prominent examples are, PM Mouinuddin Qureshi and Shortcut Aziz. Now the situation has come to the point that the foreigners dicatate even the basic services that government provides like electric and gas bills, railway fairs, and other taxation. The military regime is used as enforcer to impose their demands and hence brigadiers in military have become meter readers. In other words, corrupt military regime provides muscle to the baniya. We have lost our sovereignity because of the perks and privileges that rogue military and their lawless civilian cohorts enjoy as compensation at nations expense. This is one of the reasons military regime has deliberately not asked for forgoing of debt from US in return for the services they provide to america to establish its global colonial agenda. They want to keep this avenue open.

But this is just one part of the rackett. Lets not forget that under the watchful eyes of the Governor Ishrat and chaiman of S&C Pakistani investors were swindeled out of more than Rs. 600 Billion recently. Most of these investors were retirees and widows. This is how it worked. The madarchod Shaukat Aziz, reduced the interest rates on saving schemes like defence saving certificates etc from 19-23% down to 3.5%. The investors panicked and started looking for other ways to protect whatever they were left with. Meantime, corrupt military generals and other racketeers like Ch. Shujaat (who were already experienced from the scams like cooperative banks of the 90s) etc. setup fake companies in the stock exchange and started promoting new and ``safe`` avenues of investment. The result: with in a year widows started selling their houses and started begging for jobs as housemaids; retirees started comitting suicides; and young men started taking revenge on society by gang rapes and robberies.

But you wouldn`t know. You probably live in a Pakistan where bureaucracy never stops the file; you don`t need to gease any palms, uncles phone call do it all; the police never stops you at check points and ask you for money or else, but salutes you with a ``sorry sir``.

Re: # 164

Faisal

Ms Shamshad Akhtar seems very qualified and accomplished. However, it cannot escape one`s eye that she is a woman appointed to one of the most prominent and important jobs. I say kudos to the current government in promoting women in Pakistan and appointing them at such important positions.

HP

Indeed, it seems inappropriate to label Mr. Khan as Xerox Khan. He couldn`t have had unfettered access to photocopying facilities (if those were available at all). An alternative story is that he escaped detection by transcribing classified documents in Urdu script. But assuming that he had to contend with at least some figures and diagrams, he likely did more than simply transcribe.

urstruly, do you have proof to suggest that dr. ishrat hussain pulled a fast one over bloomberg? btw you may also want to keep a vigilant eye on the new governor. seems to me that she will be as bad as if not worse than the previous governor.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=360913&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

...Will she be able to maintain the high standards for the prestigious office set by the outgoing Governor of State Bank of Pakistan, Dr Ishrat Husain?

...Upon the retirement of Khalid Mirza, as Chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, she was offered this job. She reportedly declined the offer, as she wanted to live in Karachi with her ageing parents.

...Ms Akhtar could work for eight more years at the ADB, under the Bank`s rules, and will be taking a huge cut in her retirement benefits on resigning to assume the office of SBP Governor.

...But the overriding factor, besides her qualifications, was the perception that other candidates being considered were known for their affiliations with the government, and there was a keen desire not to create a perception that SBP once again had become an appendage of the Ministry of Finance.

The following profile of the new governor reflects the qualities and qualifications she is known for.

WORK EXPERIENCE:Director General (South East Asia) appointed January 2004.

-- Deputy Director General (South East Asia) appointed May 2003.

-- Head of a regional department that structures and intermediates ADB assistance program for the larger Asean including active borrowers such as the Philippines and Indonesia and co-ordinates regional co-operation among large Asean.

-- Managed and supervised four sector divisions handling lending and technical assistance programme for infrastructure sector, governance, finance and trade, agriculture, environment, and natural resources, social sectors and two resident missions located in Philippines and Indonesia.

-- Director, Governance, Finance and Trade Division (From 1998 to January 1, 2002).

REGIONAL COVERAGE: East and Central Asian Republics as well as South East Asia: China, Korea, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

SECTOR COVERAGE: Banking sector, SME, microfinance and other rural market financial intermediation, Pension and Insurance sector, banking and enterprise restructuring and privatisation, corporate governance and work with regulators, governance and private sector assessment work, trade liberalisation and facilitation, governance of public and private sector companies and issues of public sector resource management.

The job involved leading country and sector specific studies and analysis and providing advise to all financial regulators and economic ministers to adopt effective monetary and fiscal policy and management, and develop effective independence and accountability of regulators.

Worked on restructuring the financial sectors and strengthening of the legal, regulatory and institutional framework. Worked with different teams to further structured and strategised ADB lending, technical assistance and policy dialogue on all these subjects.

AMONG OTHERS, FEW EXAMPLES OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS INVOLVED

(i) structuring and implementation of the two large post-financial crisis ADB programs of close to $4 billion to Korea and $1.5 billion for Indonesia to resurrect the collapsed financial sectors,

(ii) advise on modernising and strengthening of the newly created China`s central bank, securities and insurance regulators, and structuring of a pension reform agenda, and

(iii) SOE enterprise restructuring and privatisation and corporate governance program for China, Indonesia, financial sector programs in Indonesia and a number of Central Asian Republics etc.

Interfaced with all countries regulators and finance ministers and had structure initiatives to catalyse the private investment fund managers and other financial intermediaries.

CONCURRENTLY, APPOINTED BY ADB PRESIDENT: Head of the Secretariat of Apec Finance Ministers Process (1998-2002):

This involved leading economic and sector work in the post-financial crisis period and policy dialogue with the Deputies and Finance Ministers on the global, regional and national financial architecture of Apec economies.

WORKED ON SEVERAL BROAD RANGING INITIATIVES: Debate on evolution and strengthening of regional financial architecture for Asian economies including issues surrounding capital flows, banking regulations including the Basle-II Accord and its consequences for developing country financial regulators, diversification of non-bank financial sector, introduction of introduction among Asia of corporate governance standards and reforms of stock exchanges, integration of private sector in this debate and assessing implications of regional financial architecture on financial institutions in developing countries etc.

ADB representative in the Bank International Settlement and International Organisation for Securities Commission and other international forums.

-- Appointed in 2001 as one of the 7-member internal working group to reorganise ADB.

-- Senior Financial Sector Specialist: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. (1996 to mid 1998).

-- Senior Country Economist: South Asia with more dedicated work on India, Pakistan and Bangladesh (1990 to 1996).

In these two jobs task managed/supervised large loan and TA transactions, among others were:

1. Indonesia - Non-bank Financial Governance Program Loan ($350 million), 2001

2. Indonesia - Financial Governance Reform Sector Program Loan ($1.5 billion), 1999-2001

3. Korea- Financial Sector Program Loan ($4 billion) 1999-2001)

4. China - TAs for the Peoples Bank of China and Securities and Insurance Regulators

5. China - Pension Reform Program

6. Pakistan - Export and Industry Competitiveness Loan ($200 million), 1998

7. Pakistan - Capital Market Development Programme Loan ($200 million), 1997

8. India - Gujarat Public Sector Resource Management Programme, ($250 million), 1996 - first MDB policy based operation in India focused on reforms at the state level. Reforms included public sector resource management (rationalisation public expenditures and strengthening the revenue base), improved tax administration, infrastructure regulatory policy development, and privatisation of state owned enterprises.

9. Kyrgyz Republic - Financial Intermediation and Resource Mobilisation Programme

10. Kyrgyz Republic - Corporate Governance and Enterprise Restructuring Programme

11. Indonesia - SOE Governance and Privatisation Programme

12. Philippine - Non-bank Financial Governance Programme

ECONOMIC AND SECTOR WORK

-- Contributed chapters to several issues of the World Bank, Pakistan Country Economic Reports.

-- ADB country economic reports and country operational strategy for India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

-- Structured and prepared reports and papers on:

-- estimation and dimensions of poverty

-- public finance including federal, provincial and local government fiscal arrangements and issues

-- resource mobilisation

-- public sector resource management

-- financial sector regulation

-- corporate governance

WORLD BANK (1980-1989): Country Economist at the World Bank`s Pakistan Resident Office in Islamabad. During this period, worked on a number of sector studies and projects and contributed annually to the World Bank`s Country Economic Report that was presented to the Paris Consortium Meeting to raise the required aid assistance for Pakistan.

Government of Pakistan (1980-1981) Economist in the National Income and Economic Research Division of the Federal Planning Commission first in Islamabad and than briefly at the Planning and Development Department in the Government of Sindh, Karachi which is a provincial government.

EDUCATION

-- Harvard University, USA (1986-1987) Post-Doctoral Fellow and US Fullbright Scholar at Department of Economics.

-- Council of National Academic Award UK (1978-1980), Ph D Economics: Awarded a Scholarship from the UK Government.

-- University of Sussex, UK (completed in December 1977) Masters of Arts Degree in Development Economics; Awarded UK Government scholarship

-- The University of Islamabad, Pakistan (completed in August 1975, MSc (Economics).

-- University of Punjab, Islamabad, Pakistan (1972-1974) Bachelor of Arts (Economics).

Mr. HP,

Who told you that AQKhan was incharge of nuke testing? If he was then why did the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission conduct the 1998 tests? or even those were conducted by AQKhan? You need to educate yourself about what goes into the making of a nuclear device and what roles the PAEC and AQKhan played in the programs on the technical level. It is you who is relying on newspaper reports, not me.


What nonsense are you talking about security clearance for KRL regarding Munir? He was PAEC Chairman, or is PAEC Chairman an alien for you? or did he come from Mars or Pluto? or was he working for the Indian RAW or Mossad? Just tell me this, why was Munir allowed to remain PAEC Chairman for 19 long years if he did not have security clearance? I am sure you have been reading stuff about Munir that is fed by AQKhan`s paid propaganda writers. Do some objective research before making conclusions. If the PAEC was only restricted to the power program, then where did the Khushab plutonium reactor come from? where did the Centre for Nuclear Studies come from? where did AQKhan get the uranium hexafloride gas, the crucial raw material for enrichment if PAEC was not producing the same? Who built the Chaghi tunnels? why was Samar Mubarakmand, former Member (Technical) PAEC incharge of nuclear testing in 1998 if AQKhan was involved in nuclear tests? AQKhan was never involved with nuclear weapon design, development or manufacture, or any of the steps involved in the nuclear fuel cycle leading to enrichment and subsequently fuel fabrication and plutonium reprocessing.

So if Munir did not have security clearance, then how come those working under him like Samar and Ishfaq had security clearance to conduct the 1998 tests?

How come Samar Mubarikmand is today Chairman NESCOM and why is he heading the nuclear weapons production and missile production programs when he is Munir Ahmad Khan`s trained scientist who worked for 19 yrs under Munir in various projects like NDC and others?

Remember, KRL was there before AQKhan came to Pakistan. It was called Project-706 under Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood. It was only separated in order to ensure that all work in not concentrated in one place.


Please get your facts straight before passing judgements on the PAEC and Munir Khan. So much for security clearance at KRL that AQKhan sold state secrets and equipment for money. Is this the criteria for making people heroes in Pakistan?

If AQKhan was the father of the bomb, he would have been incharge of nuclear testing also, which he was not, because he never had any thing to do with nuclear weapons. Nuclear Physics and Metallurgy do not mix. We are not talking about high school subjects that a metallurgist can learn everthing under the sun because he is AQKhan. Even President Musharraf in an interview with a Japanese newspaper said that AQKhan had nothing to do with nuclear weapons.

That is why the only proliferation charges relate to the one step under AQKhan and not PAEC. If PAEC was involved in power generation only, then we would have had many more power plants than we have today. The fact that PAEC was heading the nuclear weapons program is proof that all its resources were focused on nuclear weapons development.

So what are your sources of information? newspaper reports and books written by AQKhan`s paid writers? or the scientists themselves?

http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Pakistan/PakOrigin.html
Origin of Pakistan`s Nuclear Weapon Program

Unlike India`s nuclear weapons program, that traces back to an early but indefinite time, actual initiation of Pakistan`s program can be assigned a very definite date - 24 January 1972. On this date President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto committed Pakistan to acquiring nuclear weapons at a secret meeting held in Multan in the wake of the country`s devastating defeat in the 1971 Bangladesh war.

This was meeting, and the program that resulted from it, were initiated by Bhutto himself, the enactment of a long-standing personal agenda executed at the earliest opportunity he had. A proper study of this program thus must trace the history of Ali Bhutto himself, and his developing interest in the nuclear option for Pakistan.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born on 5 January 1928 into an aristocratic family of the Rajput nobility, which possessed (and possesses) near-feudal power in the Sindh region of what is now Pakistan. Bhutto was very much to the manor born -- his father was prominent in the Raj, the British colonial government, and was even knighted. Bhutto was educated at the best Western universities: Berkeley and Oxford. Brilliant and charismatic, Bhutto felt early that he was a man of destiny. After practicing law and lecturing in England, he returned to Pakistan in 1953 to practice law in Karachi. In 1957 he served as a delegate to the United Nations, and after Mohammad Ayub Khan took control of the government in a coup, Bhutto became a cabinet minister at only 30.

By that time Pakistan had already initiated a national nuclear program, a relatively early date, though later than India. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was set up in 1956 so that it could participate in the Atoms for Peace program announced by the Eisenhower administration, but development was slow in its early years.

Things began to pick up in 1960. The nuclear program acquired a new patron -- the Minister of Mineral and Natural Resources, named Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. In 1960 Dr. Ishrat H. Usmani was appointed Chairman of the PAEC. Usmani would be responsible for setting in motion many of the critical programs and institutions that would later give Pakistan nuclear weapons. Usmani started Pinstech (full name variously given as the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Technology, and the Pakistan Institute of Science and Technology) and the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant. One of Usmani`s most momentous achievement is said to be the training program under which brilliant young Pakistanis were selected and sent for training abroad. Between 1960 and 1967 some six hundred were selected of whom 106 eventually returned with doctorate degrees.

Also in 1960 the US gave Pakistan a $350,000 grant to help prepare Pakistan for its first research reactor which the United States agreed to supply two years later. This reactor, a 5 MW light-water research reactor known as the Pakistan Atomic Research Reactor (PARR-1), began operating in 1965 at Pinstech in Nilore.

In 1963 Bhutto became Foreign Minister, carrying his interest in nuclear capabilities into office with him. He watched with growing concern as China moved closer to nuclear capability, and in response India`s domestic rhetoric on the subject grew more bellicose.

During 1964, when China`s first nuclear test seemed imminent, factions in India including India`s most politically prominent scientist (Homi Bhabha, who also led India`s nuclear program), were openly agitating for nuclear weapons. Evidence suggests that India`s new interest in the nuclear option was of great concern to Pakistan. Reports from the fall of 1964 into mid 1965 indicate considerable concern by President Ayub Khan, and his Foreign Minister, who was none other than Ali Bhutto [Pervkovich 1999, p. 108]. In March both men met with Chou En-lai in Beijing, a meeting both felt had very positive results and developed Chinese support for Pakistan. It was shortly after this, in mid-1965, that Bhutto uttered his famous and prophetic oath about matching India`s nuclear capability (see at the top of this page).

Salam,

A.Q.Khan did not return to Pakistan in 1975. He arrived in 1976, two years after the Kahuta Project had been started. He never took over the nuclear program. He only headed one step in a series of equally important 24 steps that lead to a bomb. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission remained the overall incharge of the bomb program, including uranium enrichment, under PAEC Chairman Munir Ahmad Khan. They built the bomb and tested the weapons in 1983 and 1998. Western media reports are prone to inaccurate reporting on Pakistan`s nuclear program, without understanding the facts. For eg. A.Q.Khan is accused of helping North Korea with the plutonium program and the bomb design, when in fact AQKhan had not training or knowledge of plutonium or the nuclear weapons design or development. His designs were never adopted by Pakistan because they had failed cold tests. Nuclear weapons design, development, manufacture and testing as well the nuclear fuel cycle and plutonium development as well as many aspects of enrichment, being part of the nuclear fuel cycle, were solely done by PAEC.

Regards.

Pakistan
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/nuchist.htm
--1972: Following its third war with India, Pakistan secretly decides to start nuclear weapons program to match India`s developing capability. Canada supplies reactor for the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, heavy water and heavy-water production facility.

--1974: Western suppliers embargo nuclear exports to Pakistan after India`s first test of a nuclear device.

--1975: Purchasing of components and technology for Kahuta uranium-enrichment centrifuge facility begins after return of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, German-trained metallurgist who takes over nuclear program.

--1976: Canada stops supplying nuclear fuel for Karachi.

--1977: German seller provides vacuum pumps, equipment for uranium enrichment. Britain sells Pakistan 30 high-frequency inverters for controlling centrifuge speeds. United States halts economic and military aid over Pakistan`s nuclear-weapons program.

--1978: France cancels deal to supply plutonium reprocessing plant at Chasma.

--1979: United States imposes economic sanctions after Pakistan is caught importing equipment for uranium enrichment plant at Kahuta.

--1981: Smuggler arrested at U.S. airport while attempting to ship two tons of zirconium to Pakistan. Nevertheless, Reagan administration lifts sanctions and begins generous military and financial aid because of Pakistani help to Afghan rebels battling Soviets.

--1983: China reportedly supplies Pakistan with bomb design. U.S. intelligence believes Pakistani centrifuge program intended to produce material for nuclear weapons.

--1985: Congress passes Pressler amendment, requiring economic sanctions unless White House certifies that Pakistan is not embarked on nuclear weapons program. Islamabad is certified every year until 1990.

--1986: Pakistan, China sign pact on peaceful use of nuclear energy, includin

Urs Truly,

I agree that AQKhan must never be handed over to any outsider, either from the IAEA or anywhere else, and only Pakistani law should be applied to him. Having said that, you must understand that what ever he is going through has a history to it and is the fruit of his own deeds that he committed in the past. You cannot deny that he is completely innocent as far as the proliferation charges are concerned. Yes, he is certainly not alone, with many powerful accomplices who managed to get away with it, while he could not. But ofcourse, again, how could he get away with it when he himself had put in 30 years in building his self-styled image and myth as the nuclear god-father of Pakistan, when he did not deserve any of it in reality. The West picked him up simply because of his high profile defection from Urenco, and then he became a liability for Pakistan, since he could not have been disowned at any point in time. Thereafter successive governments used his high profile image in the Western media to act as a cover and a decoy for the scientists at the PAEC where the real work was being done. But during all this, he managed to get out of control and knew no bounds to his megalomania. How many scientists around the world engaged in the nuclear program have had such insatiable appetite for self-glorification, all at the cost of national interest as he has had?

One most important point, the west is not crazy for targeting him, he was the only scientist along with his accomplices at KRL who was involved in proliferation. Why does the west not target the PAEC people? Because PAEC folks never indulged in such activities. They too had secret funds and immense powers at their disposal. Yet they behaved with maturity, responsibility and put the supreme national interest above personal gains and self-glory.

It is precisely because AQKhan had built himself up as the nuclear father that he became the target of the west and it is for this reason alone that he knew he could not be caught and he got away with whatever he did. Yes Pakistan is not a signatory of the NPT, but we are a responsible nation, and we must behave with utmost nuclear responsibility, otherwise we run the risk of inviting self-destruction like Saddam`s Iraq. there is no morality in International Relations, there is only power politics and small nations have to play it very safe. But was AQKhan not a signotory to the Official Secrets Act?

why did the PAEC scientists not indulge in such activities?Did AQKhan not violate the trust that was bestowed upon him, although at great cost to the national interest retrospectively, by the nation? He could not have dreamed of the life of such opulance and power that he enjoyed in Pakistan while he was at Urenco. Yet he sold material under his administrative control to Libya, Iran and North Korea, the three countries that the West calls the axis of evil, along with his accomplices for personal greed. It is a shame how white collar criminals are defended without realizing that his actions have put Pakistan`s nuclear program`s credibility at stake and put a ready made case in the hands of the enemies of Pakistan to be used any time against us in the future. Remember, Iraq was attacked and occupied on the mere suspicion of developing weapons of mass destruction. AQKhan has shown that Pakistan has been helping other states with producing nuclear weapons, and is the centre of illegal nuclear smuggling. The tragedy is that he has cast serious doubts about the credibility of the entire Pakistani nuclear scientific community, when 99 percent of them are patriotic, honest and responsible people, committed to national interest and world peace. Nuclear Weapons are to be treated with immense maturity and responsibilty.

Had AQKhan been in any other country, he would have been tried for high treason along with his accomplices in a court of law. Is he above the law or is his image more dear to us or is Pakistan`s nuclear program and interest more dear to us? Both cannot go together. If such people are allowed to get away with their crimes, then we will have the world at our doorstep demanding sanctions, nuclear roll back, opening of our nuclear sites to the IAEA supervision and control and inspection and God forbid, military action as an extreme step.

AQKhan has brought harm, dishonor and disgrace to Pakistan. His role in the nuclear program is marginal. His actions have put the credibility of Pakistan in the eyes of the world in serious jeapoardy. He has through his actions given the enemies of Pakistan a very clear issue to use against our nuclear program and harm our national security. So make a choice, are we prepared to stand up to the world for a man who sold his nation for money, or are we more interested in safeguarding Pakistan? Individuals come and go, nations and institutions remain. National security demands that we start thinking rationally and maturely, rather than fall for emotional hogwash and ruin whatever we have painstaikingly built in the past 50 years.

We must show that we are a responsible nuclear power where the rule of law prevails, not a rogue state which is a source of nuclear blackmarketing. Is Pakistan more dear to us or is Iran , North Korea and Libya more dear? Imagine what would have happened if Musharraf had not acted wisely. We would have had sanctions, then military action. Tell me, how long can we stand up to a US attack with India joining in? How long can we stand up against sanctions alone? Therefore the wise thing to do is to accept what wrong has happened and rectify our mistakes.

If the west was making up stories,and if they wanted to target our nuclear program without any solide justification, they should have targeted the PAEC as well because that is where most of the work is done. KRL was there before AQKhan, and will remain after him also. Pakistan`s nuclear program was hijacked by AQKhan for his personal fame and glory, and now his actions have proven that giving him autonomy was a big mistake. Yes, he is not alone in all this, and all others, regardless of status, must be brought to justice.

Long Live Pakistan.

#138 by r.a.janjua
#121 by Rommel

Janjua and Rommel, I think you don’t need to rely on the newspapers accounts of the history of Pakistan nuke development. As some Journalists would write any thing based on where their interests lie.

The reality is that Munir Khan was not even allowed to enter KRL. He lacked the security clearance to enter the premises; therefore, chances of his being the father of Pakistani nuke program are next to nothing. PAEC was involved in power generation part of the nuke energy and had nothing to do with the nuke testing program which was completely under AQKhan’s control.

I have often heard this argument that AQkhan is a Metallurgist by training. True, but there is nothing in the nuclear science that a trained scientist cannot pickup or understand after a little study.

Even A-Dull here claims to be a nuke scientist after reading “high school calculus and serber`s `delightful` book and learning about the Shamiana” Talk about clueless, delusional and a Shamiana aficionado

Obviously, Dr.AQKhan is a trained scientist and extremely brilliant too, he certainly should not have any problems with grabbing that knowledge.

If you know how the research labs work, you would never question his ability to supervise a nuke lab. Research Labs are headed by scientists but the head honcho is almost never the hands on guy. He job, like any other CEO, is to put out firefights, arrange funds, build up the lab work and mostly do the PR work.

KRL had plenty of nuke scientists and there was no need for AQKhan to do the actual work. There were and still are some extremely competent scientists working at KRL. So it really was unimportant whether he was a Metallurgist by education and training.

#140 by kaalchakra
“but with making xerox copies of classified technical documents, and smuggling those xerox copies.”

I think you really have some misconception about the “copying” part of it. I don’t know if the Xerox machines were popular back in 1974 but when we talk about diagrams and designs especially in a sensitive area like this, we are talking about 100s of pages of drawings and plotters. So “copying” is not as simple a matter as people make it out to be, especially back in 1974.

If at all, he probably took notes and tried to understand the process.